Results tagged “pattymurray”

Starting today, the Sound Transit Link Light Rail line from Westlake to Tukwila is officially open. This weekend, everyone rides for free. (As of noon, that's been about 13,000 people.) Paid service starts on Monday. Transit officials said yesterday that the system is ready to go. Fourteen two-car trains are operating all weekend. On Monday, 14 trains will be operating during peak hours and 12 trains at all other times.

KOMO News is reporting that a day after the nation's largest ferry system got snubbed by the feds, Sen. Patty Murray has secured $7.6 million in federal transportation funding.

Yes! Just what the state needs: more scandal. The FBI has launched an investigation into "questionable donations" from the PMA Group accepted by Washington Dems Norm Dicks and Patty Murray. It's no secret that (dirty) money greases the wheels of everything in space and time, including politics, but it's demoralizing to hear about this on the heels of all the other wtf-gates we're reading about these days. This is the Obama era! Everything is supposed to be ducky!

We're reminded (via Monica Guzman's Twitter feed) that the Obama inauguration is gonna be well-attended. Both Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell's offices have stopped taking ticket requests; Murray got over 6,000 potential takers for about 350 potential tickets. If you're not on someone's list already, you're probably out of luck. Is it too early for bars to start advertising inauguration parties? We think not.

The same day that the Seattle Times tells us that two south Seattle cement plants are pumping 100 pounds of mercury into the air each year, we learned from the P-I that the Bush administration doesn't think asbestos causes cancer. Chronic exposure to tiny levels of mercury in the air can give you the shakes and make you stupid, but it also accumulates in the earth and in water. We're probably close to being able to use Duwamish fish to tell the temperature by now. Senator Patty Murray has been fighting for a ban on asbestos, and is disturbed by the "EPA's desire to ignore decades worth of what are considered solid studies documenting the actual hazard of the most common type of asbestos." Happily, Amazon sells an Israeli gas mask for about $40. That ought to filter out some of this, right?

The PI's Big Blog floated the rumor yesterday that Washington's own "mom in tennis shoes," Patty Murray, could become Obama's running mate. We did a double take and wondered if someone had spiked our morning coffee. While Murray has been a successful legislator for Washington State, she was a fierce Hillary supporter until throwing her support behind Obama on Sunday. She doesn't add what Obama needs to the ticket anyway.

The House gave final approval to the bill last month. It designates 167 square miles in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest north of Sultan, Wash., as federal wilderness, the government's highest level of protection.

Continue reading "No More Logging Our Wild Sky"

Yesterday, the Senate approved a bill that could create the first new wilderness area in Washington state in over 20 years. The Wild Sky Wilderness Area would include 167 square miles in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest north of Sultan, Wash and would permanently protect 106,000 acres of wilderness.

According to the Seattle Transit Blog, the University link of our not-sure-we-wanted-it-but-now-we-got-it--might-as-well-expand-it light rail system is getting the Federal funding it was looking for. It's headed to the President's desk with Seattle receiving the highest possible recommendation for funding from the Federal Transit Administration arm of the U.S. DOT. Screw you, Prop 1! Love you Patty Murray!

"The Decider" will be yakkin at you tonight, beginning at 6pm PST, in a nationally-televised address expected to last for about 30 minutes. The topic: The Iraq War, which President Bush wants to try to win--understandably so, as his other option is to pull out and go down in history as the guy with sole responsibility for the senseless deaths of 2,997 American soldiers (as of Saturday). That's exactly the same number of people as died on 9/11. (Guess what, Osama? We can get 3,000 people killed for no reason too! SNAP!)

With the Seahawks' first Super Bowl three days away our local politicians have started wagering with Pennsylvania's elected officials on the outcome.

Consider “The Other Washington”… Which one is it?

Former anybody but Bush candidate Senator John Kerry is in town raising money, hosting forums and generally bringing…it…on.